On the nature and driving forces of the Christianization of the population of the Mordovian region in the second half of the XVI – first third of the XVIII century

Having made it their goal to analyze the nature and driving forces of the initial stage of Christianization of the population of the Mordovian territory, the authors of the article turned to one of the least studied problems in regional historiography. Having studied the publications of local historians, historians and ethnographers, which highlight the introduction to the Orthodox faith of indigenous peoples of the Volga region from different angles, we came to the conclusion that there is no comprehensive study on this topic. The article is based on a wide range of sources, based on published documents on the history of Temnikovsky district (which included the western part of modern Mordovia) of the second half of the XVI – first third of the XVIII centuy. The scientific novelty of the work is associated with the originality of the tasks solved in the course of the study, focusing on the establishment of the following dependencies: the social and economic potential of monasteries – the effectiveness of the missionary activity of monasticism; the pace of landowner colonization – the number of «New Baptists» among Mordvins and Tatars. In addition to general scientific methods, problem-chronological and historical-systemic research methods turned out to be optimal for considering ethno-confessional issues in the context of socio-economic development. As a result of the conducted research, it was found that the central authorities, encouraging the establishment of Orthodox monasteries on the outskirts, contributed to the inclusion of the indigenous population of Primorye into the unified spiritual space of the country. The dissemination of the new creed was hampered by a shortage of funds necessary for missionary activities, an insufficient number of monks, and property conflicts between Orthodox monasteries and local residents. It is also proved that the pace of construction of parish churches, the number and qualifications of their employees until the early 1700-ies did not allow for a significant increase in newly baptized Tatars and Mordvins.